Make no little plans here

ORU Students Bike 300 Miles for Non-Profit Organization

Six Oral Roberts University students will bike 300 hundred miles over Labor Day weekend
to raise awareness and financial support for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA.)
CASA is a non-profit organization that gives abused and neglected children a voice
in court.

The CASA to CASA: Biking Together to End Abuse fundraiser will start at the Kansas
City CASA office and will end at the Tulsa CASA office, with each mile they ride raising
money for the Kansas City & Tulsa CASAs. The goal is to see how much awareness and
financial support can be raised at the journey's end.

Through CASA's volunteers, hundreds of abused and neglected children have been given
a voice in court, instead of being lost in the court system and foster care programs.

Local realtor, CASA Board Member and ORU alum Darryl Baskin, said "CASA volunteers
are able make a difference to where it matters most- at a point where crucial decisions
are made in a child's life."

"There is no greater feeling than helping a child who is not able to help themselves,"
said Baskin.

The idea for the bike ride came from Oral Roberts University senior Nick Wagoner.
The other five ORU riders are Sophomore David Laing, Senior Jacob Adams, Senior Troy
Gerrard, Junior Liam O' Hara, and Senior Israel Richardson.

"This has been a wonderful opportunity for me and the other riders," Wagoner said.
"What makes this fundraiser so unique is that most of the work has been done by ORU
students, from the Facebook page, to writing to the newspapers, finding sponsors,
and for the bikers getting up every day and biking over 20 miles a day. "I couldn't
have done it without them."

"ORU is big on making a difference in our world and especially in our community,"
said Laing.

"I was really excited to hear that CASA would be the non-profit we were going to help.
The work they do in court for abused and neglected children is amazing."

The CASA to CASA ride can be followed on Twitter the weekend of Labor Day and the
week preceding the event.

The riders are currently looking for both sponsors and donors for the fundraiser.
To become an official sponsor for the ride, go to either CASA websites (TulsaCASA.org
& CASAjwc.org/). Additional information can be found by joining the Facebook group
CASA to CASA: Biking Together to End Abuse.